Archive for: May 2008

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The previous post was about the value of learning conceptually before you start practicing for skill.

There is an alternative argument that argues for the opposite. Many pedagogues try to plead the case that first you must teach the “basics” (meaning the basic skills, like the “multiplication facts”) before you can expect a child to acquire any meaning about it.

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There seems to be a big “fight” about “which should you teach first, math skills or math concepts.” A popular example is the “multiplication tables” versus the concept of multiplication (as repeated addition, for example).

It’s a pretty good bet to say that when memorizing things it’s easier if you can relate the objects. Like if you went shopping and had to get toothpaste, a toothbrush and dental floss, that would be easier to remember than if you had to get shoe polish, armadillo meat and an f-string for a lute (do lutes even have f-strings?)

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“The essence of mathematics lies in its freedom.

- Georg Cantor

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Not much math this time, but there is a math joke at the bottom.

Today is our little dog’s birthday. Our “little” dog is an eighty-pound Golden Retriever named Maia . (Our hundred-ten pounder is a Golden Retriever named Galileo.)

I went down to the local slaughterhouse (yes, we have one in our little rural village, and it’s right along the railroad tracks) and got a bag of bones for Maia. I came home with them and she was ecstatic. She even shared one with Galileo.

I couldn’t resist putting a video of her up today. I hope you like it.

Happy Birthday, Maia!

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I found this joke at http://www.danielsen.com/jokes/Mathematicians.txt

• A graduate with a Science degree asks, “Why does it work?”
• A graduate with an Engineering degree asks, “How does it work?”
• A graduate with an Accounting degree asks, “How much will it cost?”
• A graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks, “Do you want fries with that?”

Nice title, eh? Let me preface this with the admission that I know just about nothing about dyslexia. Clinically, I mean.

The reason for this post is that Angela (Mother Crone) left a very interesting comment on yesterday’s post concerning how mental math has helped her daughter, who is dyslexic.

How many screwbulbs does it take to light in a dyslexic?

(Yes, that was unbelievably cheap.) Although I have no insights into clinical dyslexia, I have fought my whole life against certain dyslexic-like symptoms. I also suspect that any person who is at least mildly aware of his or her thought-processes struggles with similar symptoms.

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“In mathematics the art of proposing a question must be held of higher value than solving it.”

Georg Cantor

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About a month ago, Penny commented on this post.

Here is an except from that comment:

“Frankly, I don’t care if an elementary school child can add long columns of numbers in their head - it is an almost worthless skill. I do care if they can think about mathematical concepts.

Better to teach them to come up with simple proofs (not memorized proofs) of basic facts in math.

Better that they should understand what a prime number is, and why we care about prime numbers.

Better that they should learn to enjoy slow, deep thought about puzzles and concepts.

That is where the gold standard in math education is.”

I wanted to revisit this thought, because Penny brought up some great points. I don’t disagree with any of them. But I must say that I, as well as a lot of the readers are coming from a different place. Penny is a brilliant research mathematician. A lot of us, on the other hand, basically have a history of thinking that we sucked at math (at least until we came upon Math Mojo, and learned that almost no one sucks at math, but some sometimes the way math is taught sucks.)

I wanted to address some of the points Penny made, because those points made me think a lot this month. Here’s

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Okay, admittedly, this post has nothing to do with math. But I got distracted.

We had visitors over from my wife’s family, and the young father of a four-year old boy was teaching his son how to spin a coin on the table. He said, “I think a coin can be spun with one hand? Can you do it?”

The reason he asked is because he knows I am a semi-retired (not semi-retarded) (okay, maybe a little) magician.

I had never tried, but it didn’t seem too daunting. So I gave it a try, and it was pretty easy. But while thinking about it, I came up with what I believe is a novel way.

Check out the video. It’s easy to learn, and is seems more difficult than it really is.

Have fun,

Brian

(note: At some point I misspoke and said John Kennedy was Ted’s younger brother. Of course, Ted was the younger brother.

I know that in the last post I mentioned that it is pretty much impossible to explain to immature minds what the benefits of learning math or any other skill is.

But I assume if your a Math Mojo reader, you have a pretty mature mind. (Cool sentence, eh? I get to flatter both you and me at the same time!)

So here are a few examples of concrete benefits I have gained from using “strange powers of the mind.” These are not necessarily the same benefits you will have. Everyone will experience different benefits. (Mileage may vary.)

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That the heck does writing backwards have to do with math?

For me, it’s a sort of warm-up exercise to get me into the creative, non-judgemental flow of opening my mind. This helps let answers come to me that my mind would otherwise have blocked out. It makes thinking less of a chore and more of a “party in my mind.”

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With so many things in bloom here in rural upstate New York, I figured it’s time for some new Ideas with Math Mojo.

One of them is the addition of a new segment, called, “Strange Powers of the Mind.” Look for a lot more weird stuff like this at Math Mojo. Sign up for the Math Mojo Monthly (”Comes out Quarterly, Mostly!”) Newsletter to keep up with the additions.
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